> $ dmesg | grep PLEX > acd0: DVDR <PLEXTOR DVDR PX-708A> at ata1-master PIO4 ^^^^ This must be the culprit for at least inadequate performance. Try to echo 'hw.ata.atapi_dma="1"' >> /boot/loader.conf and reboot. I'll comment on other things later. Meanwhile see if it 6/8x recording performs as expected with DMA on and report back. A.